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Why Android Over iPhone: 8 Reasons in 2017

I know, Android over iPhone or iPhone over Android is always a controversial subject and a subjective topic due to the feelings one might have to a specific brand, commodity or simply the lack of willingness to try something new. Let's see what changed in 2017.

Android over iPhone - The Battle

I never considered myself an Apple fanboy, however a write this article on a MacBook Pro, I own an iPad, Apple TV and I'm a long time iPhone user. I've had the iPhone 3Gs, 4s, 5s and 6s. Notice how I skipped the non-s version as I always thought that the S versions are just improved versions of the main releases.

I always like the way these devices worked together and how reliable they were, but I kept an I on Android phone development as well and had several Android devices as backup phones. The last backup phone was a Nexus 5, not anymore. Now my main phone is an Android device and I keep my iPhone 6s as a backup phone (of course I did not purchased an iPhone 7, that would have been against my principles). And here is why!

Before going further, please note the I have not mentioned any Android brand against iPhone because that would be really subjective in my opinion.

Android over iPhone Reasons of 2017

1. The Build Quality

Android phones used to look like cheap iPhone knock-offs in the past, they were just not felt the same in your hands. Even the Samsung Galaxy S6 which started having it's own shape, felt quite "not so premium", in your hand, and this is me trying to use kind words. The situation started to change in the period the S7 came out and may Android phone manufacturers started paying more and more attention to the build quality.

And, in case you wonder what is my daily driver, it's a OnePlus 3 which is really fantastic in terms of build quality and oh boy, having a dedicated mute button for a person used to handle mainly iPhones, it's just beautiful!

While Android phone manufacturers made a huge leap in terms of product design, Apple did not changed almost a thing since the iPhone 6. I dare to say that it becomes quite boring after 3 generations and the same look.

2. The Screen

The screen on the latest Android devices (most of them) is just gorgeous! The colors are really vivid, everything is sharp and nice when you look at them. You can be the biggest Apple fan ever and still need to admin that after looking on some Android phone screen and than at your iPhone, you just feel that you need to adjust the brightness or something because the image is just not right. And by the end of the day, the screen is what you looking at all the time.

Having this packed in a premium feel case is just awesome.

3. The Fingerprint Sensor

I was used to the accuracy and speed of my iPhone 6 fingerprint sensor and the ones that were on Android devices were just a deal-breaker for me. I could not imagine going back to pass-codes or drawing stuff on the screen just to unlock my phone. I would not say the the fingerprint sensor on an Android phone is better, but lately, it does the job the same way. Having it on the front or the back is just a matter of preference.

4. The Camera

OK, so now you have all the nice things mentioned before, but what about the camera? Well, even though there were many discussions about the billions of megapixels on some Android phones, the way the software was made to work with the camera and the camera sensor, at least in my opinion, was better on an iPhone. Again, until recently. Many Android phone cameras are fast and are taking outstanding pictures, arguably the same or better quality.

5. System Stability

But at the end, iOS was always more stable and yet again, especially since the release of Android 7.1.1, the system is really stable and to be honest, this is one of the main reasons I decided to switch my daily driver. I'm happy to say that in 2017 I'm not afraid that I will not be able to rely on my Android phone because the system might have issues.

I know, you'd say that there was never anything that cannot be solved, but hey, I prefer to not have the problem.

6. The OS Design

Without a doubt the OS design is beautiful, simple and mature in my opinion. It does not look like anymore as if it's trying to copy something and also put some extra to it that does not belong there. Google found a way to have a clean design and easy to understand. The spacing, the fonts and the colors are fluid and when you are using the system it does not feel anymore as if you were changing operating systems while going trough different sections. This is really nice!

7. Apple's Lack of Innovation

As noted earlier, Apple did not innovated much in terms of product design and even OS design. They even copied some functions from Android because the demand was so high, but than you can ask yourself, why not change to Android?

8. The Price

Of course the price is a major factor and to pay a similar price like for Samsung, makes sense only if at all tiny points the phone has the same quality as the iPhone. But there are other manufacturers like OnePlus, ZTE or XiaoMI, that offers Android phones similar in quality or even better in some aspects.

Please note:

I did not covered some topics like system updates, system security or Siri vs Google Assistant as these were highly debated in the past. If you feel like the way Apple handle updates is better, or that the system is more secure due to it's restrictive way of handling Apps, you should definitely stick to your iPhone! At the end, it's the way you feel when using that device, that what others are thinking about it.